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Metternia Bios

Foreword

For those of you who don't yet know, Metternia began in June 2002 as my crazy private project to update MOTU from what felt like a fairly random toyline/fairlytale creation into a coherent fantasy world. Back then I had to rely on my own memories, because I was unaware of any internet databases like He-man.org, so the original version was very much based on the minicomics as I remembered them, and my own personal canon. Later, when I saw the MYP cartoon, it heavily influenced many of my ideas and I ended changing and adding things to fit in better with them.

Recently I've done my best to work in some things from other canons such as Filmation and even MOTUC, but my intention has never been to create a simple amalgam of previous canons. Metternia will always be a separate entity of its own, an elseworld Eternia if you will. As a result you'll find decided divergences such as geography nowhere to be found on any extant map of Eternia, or details that downright contradict all other canons. You'll also notice I don't use the term Preternia anywhere, as in Metternia He-Ro lives in a time after the fall of the greatest civilization on Eternia, with more history behind it than there is between He-Ro and He-Man!

The bios are what I consider my "clear canon", where every detail is considered a reliable fact unless explicitly named as myth or legend, unlike in the Books of Aeonia, where myths and misinformation are rife and the connections to Metternian reality may be tangential. Besides character bios, there are also going to be some descriptions of groups such as the Horde Wraiths, Gear Men, God Creatures and possibly even the Fighting Foe Men (unless I sink that stuff inside a bio or two). I may even do some descriptions of locations, since if Eternia and Etheria can get bios in MOTUC...

***

I'm listing here the characters whose bios are in some stage of completeness or that I at least have definite bio ideas put together (those with less than 50% of the bio written appear gray in the list). Some parts of the bios have already been posted in the fan art thread, and I'll also add them here. Since I write them whenever inspiration strikes, I can't predict when a bio will be done, or if some other bio ends up getting written before ones listed here. If I end up posting all of these here, plus the others likely to follow, there's going to be such a lot of them that I have tp create links to them here in the first post.

[Disclaimer: as always with world building efforts, details in the bios are subject to change if the whole of the story demands it. I'm also often ready to change things if the reasons are good enough, so if something really rubs you the wrong way, please let me know and tell me why.]

Hordak knew that to go against the Council of Elders and its enfocers, he needed an army capable of defending against and using the most powerful magics. He already had the means to transform anyone's abilities far beyond natural limitations, and had no shortage of willing candidates, but having himself betrayed his old master, Hordak would not simply trust such power to anyone. There had to be a price to pay: anyone transformed into one of Hordak's elite warlocks would have to relinquish part of their free will. They would no longer be able to disagree with their lord and master, nor disobey any of his orders.

Even with such a severe cost for power, Hordak had no difficulty finding volunteers. The Council of Elders had imposed limits to the teaching of magic to other races and all but forbidden the teaching of warlock magics. Many were willing to ignore the true motivations behind the offer of great power or even fully embraced Hordak's true goals to begin with.

The hooded, glowing-eyed figures of Hordak's elite became the spearhead of the magical forces of his army. Proud of their great magical prowess they often chose to levitate rather than walking, setting themselves apart from anyone not instilled with such power. They soon became known as wraiths among Hordak's troops and enemies both.

Despite their absolute loyalty, not many wraiths found their way among Hordak's most trusted lieutenants. Perhaps as a result of this only a handful were with him when he became trapped in the time vortex in Despondos. Their number was deminished further, when Hordak had to leave most of them behind to keep open the portal needed to escape from Despondos. Finding himself and his army in a radically changed situation, Hordak never created more wraiths using the same method as on Eternia.

Cut off from their leader, the wraiths nonetheless kept fighting the war for Hordak, though splintered and without central direction. They were formidable opponents nonetheless, and the war stretched on for years even in the absence of Hordak. Time was not on the wraiths' side however. Even despite their inability to rebel, Hordak had implemented a contingency plan that slowly drained them of their augmented power in the absence of their master. Whether it was part of the plan or not, all of the surviving wraiths on Eternia took their life soon after the end of the war.

***

TusgoreMaladdon of the Primigus tribe

The Manmot warrior Maladdon was banished from his tribe after disobeying tribal laws and consequently killing a high-ranking elder in a fit of rage. Doomed to a life of a vagabond and shunned by the other Manmot tribes, Maladdon wandered south from the plains of Frigia where his people lived. He found his way to the Serpent Citadel where he heard a great warlock was hiring warriors that could prove their worth. Soon Maladdon was recruited into Hordak's growing army where he abandoned his tribal name, going by Tusgore from then on. He became notorious for his way of eschewing projectile and bladed weapons, choosing instead to slay his enemies with the force of his iron-knuckled fists and his mighty steel-tipped tusks.

Hordak himself was impressed by the fierce elephantine warrior, but was disappointed to find out most of the Manmots were too peaceful to befit his purposes. He was still certain they could be used as a breeding stock for fearsome warriors, if they could be manipulated to become more like Tusgore. Hordak appointed Tusgore to lead the northern legions to Frigia and conquer the Manmots for his uses. This proved to be a mistake, as Tusgore took the opportunity to terrible wreak revenge against his kind, burning down villages just for fun and slaughtering his entire native tribe. When Hordak found out Tusgore had ruined his plans with this insubordination, he punished the Manmot by trapping him in a glacier, magically frozen solid yet still fully aware of his situation.

Tusgore remained encased in ice for the length of the Second Great War, not knowing that the warlock had eventually been trapped in another dimension. During the following millenia he slowly drifted into a state of delirious stupor, which he was in when a group of Nephilian explorers found him and thawed him out, amazed to find the giant warrior alive, though catatonic. He was toured around Eternia as an unwitting part of a traveling show, until eventually Hordak managed to return to Eternia. Desperate for able warriors he sought Tusgore out, cured him of his madness and allowed him to join the Horde once again.

I got a crazy little idea today. Since finishing a bio sometimes takes me ages, I could write some short mini-bios to be added for the listed characters whose bios might take a while longer. Here are some samples:

Ancient Characters

He-RoRo Larr
Trained by the mysterious Eldor in the ways of magic, He-Ro became the first champion of Grayskull, defending the castle against the Snake Men. He later became a king, until he moved the capital city from Grayskull to Eternos and relinquished his power to the Ruling Council. Remembered as King Grayskull in modern times.

Kodak Alder
The Successor of Heera as the Sorceress of Grayskull. She trained Kodak Ungor and defended Grayskull against the evil of Karak Nul and the Foe Men.

Evil Warriors

Mer-ManAtergos ag Rakash
The exiled son of the dethroned ruler of the Rakash undersea empire, the Foemor prince Mer-Man joined forces with Skeletor in return for help to regain his father's throne.

ClawfulKhrzor Rhaklus
Mer-Man's enslaved carcinian bodyguard who chose to serve Skeletor after he freed Clawful from the magic that had bound him to the Foemor prince since his birth.

Heroic Warriors

Zodac the Cosmic EnfocerZur'ath Ustar
An enforcer of the Council of Elders that was stationed in space and became cut off from Eternia during the Second Great War. He found a new purpose while meditating and dedicated his existance to upholding a balance between all extremes in the universe.

Buzz-OffBazaphoros of Andreeno
A young Andreenid of the leader caste that was sent as an ambassador to Eternos, where he took part in the Battle of Eternos against Keldor's forces. After his acts of bravery, Bazaphoros was allowed to join the Eternian Guard.

What do you think. Good idea? Stupid idea? Mostly harmless idea?

Originally Posted by Eternian Poet

Awesome!

Looking forward to more.

Thanks. I'll post Roboto's bio tomorrow. You can trust me on this, I never make promises anymore unless I expect to be able to keep them!

More like a good idea! I vote that you keep this up & then keep posting the complete bios as you go. I think these short bios will also give a good idea of the overall story...

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Trained by the mysterious Eldor in the ways of magic, He-Ro became the first champion of Grayskull, defending the castle against the Snake Men. He later became a king, until he moved the capital city from Grayskull to Eternos and relinquished his power to the Ruling Council. Remembered as King Grayskull in modern times.

Making KG & HR the same is a good idea. Though I hope that "the Power" isn't merely KG's belief in himself!

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Kodak Alder
The Successor of Heera as the Sorceress of Grayskull. She trained Kodak Ungor and defended Grayskull against the evil of Karak Nul and the Foe Men.

Short bios on groups & locations would also be good.

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Mer-ManAtergos ag Rakash
The exiled son of the dethroned ruler of the Rakash undersea empire, the Foemor prince Mer-Man joined forces with Skeletor in return for help to regain his father's throne.

Excellent! Mermie has some depth!

Originally Posted by Mechthild

ClawfulKhrzor Rhaklus
Mer-Man's enslaved carcinian bodyguard who chose to serve Skeletor after he freed Clawful from the magic that had bound him to the Foemor prince since his birth..

Perfect! Nothing better than this kind of tension within the ranks! Mer-Man has never really been given much "royal" treatment, but this is a good way to demonstrate his (former) power.

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Buzz-OffBazaphoros of Andreeno
A young Andreenid of the leader caste that was sent as an ambassador to Eternos, where he took part in the Battle of Eternos against Keldor's forces. After his acts of bravery, Bazaphoros was allowed to join the Eternian Guard.

I like that Buzz-Off sounds like a corruption of his real name "Bazaphoros".

Originally Posted by Mechthild

I'll post Roboto's bio tomorrow. You can trust me on this, I never make promises anymore unless I expect to be able to keep them!

You're absolutely right! I should start with those, actually. There are a ton of novel locations mentioned in my bios that are in no way obvious from the names, though I have an exact idea of what they're like. And even groups like the Foe Men that aren't clearly defined in any canon so far.

Gear Men; Roboto

Gear Men of Eternos

After the Great Wars the people of Eternia grew wary of the advanced technology they saw as the reason for the downfall of the Ancients. While they preserved many of the technological marvels of the Age of the Ancients, the tekmasters banned many technologies including artificial minds and machines that could imitate human abilities. Man-shaped machines were only accepted if they were clearly devoid of any will or wits of their own.

When king He-Ro appointed the Ruling Council of Eternos, he gifted them ten mechanical men that would serve them tirelessly. To avoid angering the tekmasters' guild he had them made so that their chests and heads were transparent, revealing the simplistic inner workings of gears, cogs and crude electronics. Their ability to respond to commands accordingly was more due to magic than technology. As a result the tekmasters could maintain and repair the mechanical servants, dubbed Gear Men, but not build functioning copies of them.

Though Eternos had to survive many tribulations in the Time of Strife, many of the Gear Men survived in working order. However, by the time the young Man-At-Arms Duncan got to study them, only three were functioning perfectly. The others still remaining had been afflicted by the decaying of the magical spells bound in their mindstones. They could only be ordered to do simplistic repetitive tasks and were of little use for the Ruling Council.

+++

RobotoRobotic Unit 9041

Built by the Ancients to help the crew of the orbital space station Vesperus, robotic unit 9041 was inactive on the fateful day the Second Great War began. This saved its central processor when Hordak unleashed a massive energy pulse that incapacitated every satellite, ship and space station in the orbit of Eternia. However, with no-one to restart it, unit 9041 was doomed to remain offline longer than anyone had ever planned for, forgotten aboard the derelict hulk of Vesperus.

At some point during the Time of Strife the remains of Vesperus broke apart and drifted into the atmosphere. Charred pieces of it fell down on different parts of Eternia. Through luck, the module containing unit 9014 landed in the Searing Sands, where it lay buried until it was happened upon by Man-At-Arms Duncan of Eternos on a patrol mission. The wreck was excavated and inside Man-At-Arms found something he could only have dreamed of: the remains of a mechanical humanoid with what appeared to be an artificial brain.

For years before being appointed Man-At-Arms, Duncan had obsessed with improving robotics. It all began when he realized his own bionic leg could be vastly improved, and through hard work, reading and experimentation he had mastered the creation of artificial limbs and organs of different kinds, even surpassing the skills of the leading tek-surgeons in Eternos. After this he turned his attention to the gear men of Eternos Palace, simplistic human-shaped automatons used as the silent servants of the Ruling Council. Duncan realized that combining his knowledge of bionics with the gear men, he could create an artificial person physically superior to any human being. However his creation lacked one crucial ingredient: a mind.

Duncan went against the age-old tekmaster taboo of developing artificial brains, but had little success. Such information had been lost or destroyed from the ancient texts and even the Sorceress could not offer him any help. On his own Duncan could not come up with a machine mind that was smarter than a gnat, so eventually he gave up the effort. But now, many years later, he dug up his unfinished husk of a metal man to grant a new life to the robotic brain he had discovered.

To Man-At-Arms' amazement, combining the mostly intact processing unit with the body turned out much easier than he had expected, though much painstaking work had to be done to repair and replace the damaged parts of the ancient artificial brain. Upon finishing his work, he was shocked by the realization of what he was about to do. Was he committing an unforgivable crime by creating a powerful machine that could think and act for itself? Who knew if the robotic being would turn out to be benevolent or a remorseless killer?

Distraught, Man-At-Arms sought council with the Sorceress, explaining his dilemma. To his relief the Sorceress took the news calmly and explained that after the Great Wars this technology had been hidden or destroyed to prevent it from falling into evil hands and turned into an unstoppable force of destruction. She took Man-At-Arms deep into the vaults of Grayskull where she produced an ancient technical artifact. It was a heart chip, created to grant emotions and empathy to a robotic entities, to make them care for living beings and unwilling to harm anyone. Instructed by the Sorceress, Man-At-Arms installed the heart chip in the artificial man and finally dared to switch him on.

Due to damage to his memory cores, unit 9041 was unable to remember anything specific from his earlier existence in the time of the Ancients except for part of his name, which came out as a stuttered "Robot-o-o-o-o-o". This gained him the name Roboto, even though his self-repair algorithms later fixed the problem and he was able to state his full designation. Man-At-Arms and his daughter Teela treated him like a recovering patient as he learned to use his new body and the intricacies of the human world.

At first Roboto was greeted with astonishment and confusion by the people of Eternos, even fear and hostility from the tekmasters' guild, but the Sorceress was able to clear the matter by talking to the Ruling Council. Once Roboto knew his way around the city, Man-At-Arms was even granted a permission to let him join the Eternian Guard as he had wished, though the decision implied a position more of a weapon or a piece of equipment than a person.

Even when he was begrudgingly accepted by the common people, old prejudices persisted stubbornly. Roboto failed to fully win over most of the humans in the guard until a tragic incident proved his true mettle. During a desperate battle against a host of self-replicating robots Skeletor had pilfered from the Forest of Iron, Roboto chose to sacrifice himself to save the rest of the guardsmen. This selfless act in a situation where he could have easily saved himself and let the others perish finally convinced even the most suspicious minds of his good nature, though it seemed, too late.

But Man-At-Arms refused to give up on Roboto yet. He had brought hopelessly wounded guardsmen from the brink of death and back to fighting shape before, and though Roboto's body was broken beyond repair, at least the memory cores holding his personality were still intact. He went to Castle Grayskull to ask if the Sorceress could help him further, and was to his amazement met with not only the Sorceress but a hulking mechanical man standing in the darkness. The Sorceress explained that she was already aware of what had happened and wanted Duncan to use this ancient robotic warrior, defunct since the Second Great War, as a new body for Roboto.

After Man-At-Arms had succeeded in granting Roboto yet another new body, his return was greeted by the entire ranks of the Eternian Guard with a roaring applause. Roboto was granted medal of valor and promoted to the rank of sergeant. As his fellow guards allowed themselves to learn to know him better, Roboto became treated like a normal person rather than a metal monster. His selflessness, tactical prowess and eagerness to help earned him an honored place among the Eternian Guard.

Last edited by Met-Hild; July 7, 2011 at 09:26am.
Reason: fixed spelling

After the Great Wars the people of Eternia grew wary of the advanced technology they saw as the reason for the downfall of the Ancients.

Grew wary? Or where they down-right terrified?

The term "Gear Men" is excellent, BTW & much in keeping with MOTU sounding names.

Originally Posted by Mechthild

the tekmasters banned many technologies including artificial minds and machines that could imitate human abilities.

Tekmasters or techmasters? You use both.

Did they also ban certain (very destructive) weapons & vehicles?

Originally Posted by Mechthild

mindstones

Does Roboto have one? You don't mention this term again, but say "central processor" instead. Is Roboto an older, less magical model?

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Through luck, the module containing unit 9014 landed in the Searing Sands, where it lay buried until it was happened upon by Man-At-Arms Duncan of Eternos on a patrol mission.

Luck? Seems unlikely.... But I suppose luck is. Perhaps it was detected, a homing signal or something? A dream even?

Originally Posted by Mechthild

Duncan went against the age-old tekmaster taboo of developing artificial brains, but had little success.

Are any tekmasters left & are they after MAA now? Heh, I like how MAA is a little Dr. Frankenstein....

Originally Posted by Mechthild

which came out as a stuttered "Robot-o-o-o-o-o".

Nice.

Originally Posted by Mechthild

He went to Castle Grayskull to ask if the Sorceress could help him further, and was to his amazement met with not only the Sorceress but a hulking mechanical man standing in the darkness. The Sorceress explained that she was already aware of what had happened and wanted Duncan to use this ancient robotic warrior, defunct since the Second Great War, as a new body for Roboto.

Hmmm... The Sorceress likes handing gifts out of the treasure-chests of Greyskull.... I suppose she trust MAA & wants to keep her "guards" strong...

I tried to convey the situation where the public opinion turned against high tech. On the other hand they were frightened, on the other few wanted to give up conveniences they had grown dependent on.

Tekmasters or techmasters? You use both.

Oh damn, I thought I had proofread this well enough. I changed it from techmasters to tekmasters, because I figured it would have a more MOTUish sound to it, but the old spelling sometimes still turns up for various reasons.

Did they also ban certain (very destructive) weapons & vehicles?

The tekmasters, with the blessings of the Council of the Wise, limited the availability of all technology greatly, especially that pertaining to warfare.

Does Roboto have one? You don't mention this term again, but say "central processor" instead. Is Roboto an older, less magical model?

Roboto's basically pure technology, which I tried to make clear by using the terms artificial of robotic brain. The mindstones were originally not meant to be used in human-mimicing robots, but He-Ro figured out a way to use them as crude "brains" for them. The history of Eternia has seen the general preference switch from magic to technology and back several times.

Luck? Seems unlikely.... But I suppose luck is. Perhaps it was detected, a homing signal or something? A dream even?

When is a coincidence more than just a coincidence? There is a fine line between chance and predestination on Eternia. That's something you'd need to ask Eldor about...

Speaking of which, I should post Eldor's prophecy in the Books of Aeonia thread.

Are any tekmasters left & are they after MAA now?

Tekmasters have a guild of their own, and even though they don't have a complete monopoly on higher technology on Eternia anymore, they're pretty powerful. I'm sure they're not happy with Duncan, but they can't touch him. They're not THAT powerful.

Hmmm... The Sorceress likes handing gifts out of the treasure-chests of Greyskull.... I suppose she trust MAA & wants to keep her "guards" strong...

Actually, she wants to make them stronger than they've ever been before. There's a storm coming soon, and she knows it. The Day of Purging is no mere myth.

Good work!

Thank you.

I'm not sure what to post next. Megator's bio has been ready for a while but I'd prefer to post Procrustus first and maybe Tytus with him. Man-E-Faces is almost complete too, and the Faceless One could be, if I got the latest rewrite done.

One of the most learned humans at the end of the Age of Ancients, Procrustus had been taught by the greatest mages of all the three orders of magic, though his studies were limited by his refusal to follow their rules and limitations. He formed his own little school of magic and gathered many human disciples. Procrustus was also a polemic speaker, endorsing true independence for the humans of Eternia, and he gathered a large group of followers who called themselves the Procrustians. Though there was no open conflict, the relations between the Procrustians and the Ancients were troubled at best.

When the Second Great War started, Procrustus volunteered the help of himself and his followers to the Council of Elders, but their offer was turned down. The Procrustians were told they were too weak and few in numbers to prevail, the war too great for them to fight. According to an old legend, Procrustus said to his followers: "If the war is too great for us, then we must make ourselves great enough for the war." He used the forbidden arcane spell of Titanogenesis on himself, becoming a massive giant with many arms and rock-like skin, able to draw his power from the earth itself. The spell was also used on several willing followers of his, creating a small army of giants with varying powers, though only a handful of all of the Procrustians opted for or could have even survived such a transformation.

The Ancients wanted to put Procrustus and his giants on trial for their transgression, but the war effort against Hordak was taking a turn for the desperate, and the Council of Elders was worried the Procrustians might side with the warlock if they were treated too harshly. They ended up accepting the Procrustians' help on the condition that at the end of the war they would answer for their crimes accordingly. In truth some of the Elders that advocated letting them help expected many of the giants to die, saving the Council the trouble of having to deal with them. Conversely, Procrustus believed that if he helped the war effort enough, the Council might be persuaded to pardon him and his followers.

The Procrustian giants did indeed seem to make a formidable addition to the Ancients' allies. Procrustus with his his might and magic could stand up even the dread legions lead by the horde wraiths. However his loyalties primarily lie with his fellow humans, much to the frustration of the Ancient generals and the Council of Elders that could often have sorely needed the giants elsewhere. Worse still, Mawgath, a disciple of Procrustus, betrayed his teacher to join the Horde, taking sensitive information with him. In the end, despite their best efforts, the Procrustians could not do enough to change the course of the war, proving the Elders' original assessment correct.

Once the war had ended, Procrustus had to stand on trial before the Council of Elders, accused of going against the rules of the magical orders and multiple counts of using and teaching forbidden magic of a high order. There was no denying the charges, but Procrustus still hoped that his compliance and noble reasons would earn him some leniency. The Council had no mercy to spare for him, however. Found guilty, he was sentenced to be imprisoned within a magically sealed cavern deep within the bedrock of Subglacia for the rest of his days. And because of the unaging state he had attained with the spell of Titanogenesis, that meant indefinitely.

What consoled Procrustus in his imprisonment was that the Council of Elders also decided to give the Procrustians their own autonomous land, where they were free to choose their rulers and live by their own laws. Though the rest of the giants weren't allowed such freedom, even they had the option to live among their compatriots. This was done in part to make sure Procrustus surrendered to his fate, but in the coming years the Council also granted autonomy to other human-inhabited lands and city-states such as Zalesia. The Procrustians however always remembered their leader as a savior and liberator of his people, and as generations passed, began to think of him as a god.

Procrustus remained chained to his magical prison for millennia, until Skeletor discovered and activated an ancient relic left over from the Great Wars: a thaumic nullifier capable of draining all the magical energies from Eternia. A desperate creation, It had never been used for the fear of the devastation it could cause if ever activated. With no magics to hold him in place, Procrustus believed he had finally been pardoned and dug his way up to the surface, where he was met up with He-Man, who forced him back down as the Sorceress had adviced to do if he met the giant.

***

MegatorMoleb, son of Angrah

When the splintered leaderless armies of Hordak had been defeated, Procrustus and his giants were brought before the Council of Elders to be judged. While Procrustus was condemned to imprisonment, the Elders showed mercy for the lesser giants and granted them a choice: to submit to the will of the Council or to follow their leader to captivity without end. In the end they all chose the freedom they had fought to preserve.

However, many of the Procrustian giants grew to resent the Council of Elders and the Council of the Wise that eventually took its place after the Ancients retreated from Eternia. The price of their freedom was to never have children or reveal the spell of Titanogenesis to anyone. A powerful curse set upon them would befall on any one of them to break these rules. The chief among the renegade giants to renounce the authority of the Council was the one who went by the name of Megator. He had taken that name when he gained his dreadful giant form with green skin, great tusks and clawed hands and feet, that had served to strike terror in the hearts of Hordak's troops during the war. But his appearance also reflected his true nature, for he was as cruel and vicious as Tytus was honorable and virtuous.

Though many among the giants knew Megator to be a bad seed, he was tolerated as long as he did rise into open rebellion. But when the Children of Serpos revealed their true nature and began to subjugate the lands surrounding Ignia, Megator chose to offer his services to the Snake Men. King Hiss immediately saw use for a giant of his own, and made him part of his grand army, even though Serpos refused grant Megator any powers. Suggested by Hiss, Megator managed to persuade some of his fellow giants to join him under the Snake Man banner, though most of the Procrustians still sided with the Council of the Wise.

Megator only learned what it meant to serve the king of the Snake Men when he was slain in the Battle of the Strangling Vines. Hiss would not let his giant rest but used necromancy to raise him as an undead slave. In this form Megator was forced to continue fighting the war until the siege of Grayskull, where he was given a true death by the mortally wounded Tytus. A legend tells that as King Hiss' dark magics finally released him, Megator whispered a word of thanks to his moribund giant brother.

---

Postscript: I admit that the Procrustus bio was a bit rushed at the end, but I wanted to get it out here so I could freely post others whose past has to do with the giants (including a Heroic Warrior).

Location Mini-Bios

As promised, mini-bios for Metternian locations. More will be added whenever the need arises (for instance some place not established in other canons is mentioned in a bio). Some of these places haven't been mentioned yet but will turn up in the bios soon enough.

---

Abraca
A small town in the Sands of Time, close to the shore of the Sea of Rakash.

Adreenos
The greatest Andreenid hive in Eternia, located in the Mystic Mountains, founded by the queen Andreeno the first and her swarm.

Anh Tol
An island empire that rules the area from the Golden Isles all the way to the Dragon Isles in the north.

Ashen Mountains
A non-volcanic mountain range that borders Ignia.

Blacklands
The most volcanically active part of Ignia, entirely covered in volcanic rock and ash, overcast by a cover of volcanic clouds, extremely hostile to life. The source of the Blood River lies here.

Dhabra
An ancient city built by the Osirians, now a lost ruin in the Sands of Time. Location of the Temple of the Sun.

Despondos
A desolate dimension where time behaves erratically and can be manipulated to run slower or faster locally.

Forest of Iron
A vast abandoned industrial area of the Ancients. Its self-repairing mechanisms sprang to life at some point during the Age of Strife, and the area is now dominated by strange mechanical life forms.

Frigia
A vast expanse of cold steppe and tundra between the Ice Mountains and Nephelia. It borders with Ignia in the southwest.

Geontia
The land, now located at the northern edge of the Evergreen Forest, granted by the Council of Elders to the Procrustians and their descendants after the Great Wars.

Golden Isles
The home of Hidoite Jitsu, part of the empire of Anh Tol.

Ignia
A vast volcanic wasteland, nearly devoid of all life, created in the Second Great War in an effort to destroy Hordak's Serpent Citadel.

Nephelia
A large kingdom south of the plains of Frigia, stretching to the coast of the Sea of Rakash, dominated by humid moorlands and coniferous forest.

Plains of Plentivus
A vast and fertile lowland area that fed a large part of the Ancients' civilization. It was eventually swallowed by the Desert of Temporis. Most of it is now under the Sands of Time.

Salamander Tower
Before the Snake Man War, the ancient Salamander tower was the headquarters and center of learning for the alchemists. It was invaded and destroyed by King Hiss's forces.

Sands of Time
A large expanse covered by sand dunes that forms the eastern part of the Desert of Temporis. Many ruins of great age from the time of the Ancients lay buried here.

Sea of Mutaris
An inland sea where the exiled prince Atergos of Rakash hid after his father had been dethroned.

Sea of Rakash
Once known as the Sea of Susurrus by the Ancients, it gained its modern name from the Foemor undersea empire which spans much of the depths of this sea.

Searing Sands
An extremely hot and dry part of the Desert of Temporis, inhabited by the Akrani Scorpion Men.

Serpent Citadel
The center of operations for Hordak prior to and during the Second Great War. Its most notable feature was a giant many-headed serpent consisting of igneous rock.

Subglacia
A land that lies beneath the polar ice cap, north of the Ice Mountains.

Subternia
A vast labyrinthine network of caves spanning a large part of Perpetua, said to have been gnawed into the bedrock of Eternia by the insectile god Kalakh-Chitla. Home to a host of races, most importantly the Kex, the Speleans and the Arachna.

Tragua
The homeland of the Caperians, whom humans know as goat men, located on the Semperian continent northeast of the Sands of Fire.

Untamed Wilds
A vast area of uninhabitable wilderness formed after the Great Wars. It was populated by a vast variety of strange and deadly beasts of varying origins.

Last edited by Met-Hild; July 17, 2011 at 04:11pm.
Reason: Typos, typos everywhere.

Thanks. I always worry about introducing radically different ideas, even when the characers have little or no established lore.

Interesting locations! Funny that you didn't include Castle Greyskull of Eternos City & Palace

Wait, what are those?

Would it also be worth listing Meternian races/species, along with your pictures?

That is a good idea. I was thinking of writing something about races and groups that aren't familiar from previous canons, but there's certainly something to say about familiar ones too. And it lets me drop some tidbits about characters whose bios aren't ready to be posted yet.

Man-E-Faces

Man-E-FacesDrimus Agonis the mimic

Eternians used to say Drimus was an actor by the grace of the Goddess, because of his uncanny ability to imitate everyone he met. Not only could he change his voice but his facial features too, seeming to change from man to woman, even a Caligar or a Feran, right before the eyes of the audience. He became known as the Man of Many Faces and rose to popularity in not just Eternos but all the surrounding cities, even the border towns of Nephelia, performing both serious dramas and comedic acts.

After the Battle of Eternos, the Eternian Guard was sorely short of able men, and Drimus wanted to do his part for his homeland. Even as he rose to the rank of sergeant, he still performed in his free time as well as entertaining his comrades in arms with imitations of General Randor and especially Duncan, the new Man-At-Arms of Eternos. As a reference to this favorite character of his, the men began to call him Man-E-Faces. But then one tragic mission changed his life forever, threatening to rob him of his gift forever.

Drimus and his squad had the misfortune of being the first of the Eternian Guard to run into Skeletor in his fully formed state, after he had purged himself of Keldor. Eager to demonstrate his power to his underlings, the newborn Lord of Destruction made short work of the guardsmen, leaving Drimus and a few others to be tortured to death. After brutally crippling him, Skeletor slowly and agonizingly seared the skin and flesh off his head. Drimus would surely have died with his comrades, had reinforcements lead by Man-At-Arms himself not come to his rescue.

Placing him in life support, Duncan strived to fix Drimus the best he could, but there was little he could do about his face, completely destroyed by the evil magics of Skeletor. His bionics had saved Mekan's life, and many a badly wounded guardsman owed him for his new arm, leg or even sight or hearing, but never had he seen such damage. True to his character, the Man-At-Arms of Eternos would not give up until he found a way to give Drimus back his amazing ability to imitate - in one way or another.

In the end Duncan had to seek help from the Sorceress, having exhausted all the knowledge available to him in the libraries of Eternos. She granted him access to the Ancient databases relevant for his needs, and finally Duncan found a solution to this dilemma. If he could not make a whole new face for Drimus, he could at least build a helmet-like device that created the likeness of a face, free to change at the whims of the actor. Fitted with this device, Drimus made full recovery, even returning triumphantly to the stage under the name Man-E-Faces, now as a tribute to the man who saved him. While somewhat cumbersome, the face device enabled Drimus to imitate not only the voice but the finest facial features of anyone and anything, even beasts and inanimate objects.

However, the ill-fated actor's streak of bad luck was far from over. Having finally returned to his duties in the guard, he was sent to investigate some strange goings on in the desert town of Abraca. It turned out that it was Skeletor working under a disguise that was behind the reports. A group of locals working for the warlock managed to overpower Man-E-Faces and his men, bringing them to their sinister employer.

Skeletor easily recognized the guardsman who had escaped his wrath, and came up with a sinister plot to get back at his enemies. He used his powerful arcane magic to change Man-E-Faces' helmet device so that the changes could became complete; not only physical but changing the very nature of the actor to whatever appearance he took. Having done this Skeletor wiped the memories of all the guardsmen and left them poorly tied up and guarded by incompetents, ensuring their easy escape.

Unaware of what had happened, none in Eternia suspected what had really happened, not even Man-E-Faces himself, who had not a clue of the magical changes done to him and his device. After a few days had passed, Skeletor set his plan in motion, taking over Man-E-Faces' mind and forcing him to change into a witless monster subservient to the warlock. Commanded by Skeletor he took Teela by surprise and kidnapped her, overpowering the warrior woman with new magically augmented strength and savagery. But this was only one of many steps in the plan, for Skeletor's true target was his old foe Man-At-Arms, whom he sought to exact revenge on.

Having already set up a diversion well in advance to draw He-Man far away from Eternos, Skeletor was sure Duncan would have to come to the aid of his daughter himself. What he had not counted on however, not knowing the true origins of Teela, was that the Sorceress herself would be accompanying Man-At-Arms. So instead of a short skirmish against Man-At-Arms and perhaps a few guardsmen Skeletor found himself fighting a magical battle with the Sorceress over the control of Man-E-Faces.

The Sorceress broke through Skeletor's spells to free Man-E-Faces' mind so he could control his new appearance instead of the other way around. But Skeletor knew the nature of the spell better than anyone, and wrested back the control of Man-E-Faces' beastly form. Yet the warlock found himself not a match for the Sorceress, and felt his grip on the man's mind weakening. In an attempt to suppress his will, Skeletor forced Man-E-Faces to change his appearance to that of a robot, but had no chance to command him when Man-At-Arms and the freed Teela charged at him. The Lord of Destruction was forced to retreat. He had lost not only his opportunity for revenge but also a potential new pawn.

With the evil warlock gone, Man-E-Faces finally regained control over himself and changed back to his human self. Confused over what had happened, Man-E-Faces wanted to know what had just taken place, and Man-At-Arms and the Sorceress both agreed he should be taken to Grayskull so that his predicament could be studied properly.

After using her magic and the equipment inside the castle, The Sorceress realized that while she had succeeded in permanently freeing Man-E-Faces' mind, Skeletor's spell had bound the monstrous and robotic forms to the very essence of the man's being. From now on, they would exist as if two alternate personalities, and more than that, manifest physically with their own traits and abilities. Reversing the spell entirely would require destroying the face device that was now magically fused with the body and mind of Man-E-Faces, creating faces of his flesh and blood rather than synthetic apparitions. Trying to remove the device would inevitably cost his life.

When the Sorceress had explained the situation to Man-At-Arms, she and Duncan decided together to take a calculated risk and let Man-E-Faces return to his post in the Eternian Guard under their watchful eye. In the end the gamble paid off, as the good-hearted core of Man-E-Faces remained the same even under his two new personas. Through experience he learned how to use the abilities of a robot and a monster to his and the Guard's great advantage in the battle against Skeletor and others threatening the free people of Eternia, even proving resilient against the mind-altering magics of the Ophidian Ring. The man who started by imitating Man-At-Arms had become a great asset to the Guardians of Grayskull.

Races, part I

The first two parts of race bios deal with races whose names are not already familiar from previous canons.

----

Ailur
A race of cat people that split off from the Osirian civilization soon after the Second Great War. They were originally humans that worshipped a cat god and were transformed into feline humanoids themselves. The Great Felines blamed the Ailur for stealing a holy artifact known as the Tear of Panthelestios, explaining their transformation by it's power, but the Ailur adamantly denied such charges. They survived the Snake Man War, but during the Time of Strife the combination of desertification and attacks by the Ferans caused the Ailur civilization to collapse.

Akrani
Terrestrial cousins of the Carcinians, the scorpion-men of the Searing Sands were spawned to dwell in the desert and remained incorrupt by dark gods. Silent and hardy, protected by chitinous body armor and armed with clawed pincer hands and a tail stinger with paralysing venom, they are the uncontested rulers of the desert. Though solitary and reluctant to accept any authority, some Akrani served as elite guards of the Osirians. After the Time of Strife they have grown hostile to all other races.

Ancient
The race now known as the Ancients were the only sapients to evolve naturally on Eternia. They defeated the Living Gods and built the greatest civilization the planet would ever see with their superior magic and technology. But they also brought about it's downfall with the Great Wars, plunging Eternia to an age of chaos and barbarism. The Ancients themselves withdraw from Eternia at large after the Second Great War, evacuating the planet en masse to live in a hidden, possibly extradimensional, city known as Arcanur, the location of which no-one knows for certain.

Caperian
Hailing from the mountainous peninsula of Tragua, these hardy horned humanoids are best known as sailors in most of Eternia. Humans tend to call them goat men because of their features that recall a goat or a ram. Physically stronger than humans and able to survive long periods without drinking made them popular slaves in the Time of Strife.

Carcinian
Though dwellers of the shore and sea, the crab-like Carcinians are children of the many-shaped Kalack-Chitla. At some point they were corrupted by the dread Ebbomeleth, only to be betrayed to his new favorites, the Foemor. To this day most of the Carcinian race remains enslaved by the Foemor, save for a few island-dwelling tribes in the Harmony Ocean that have abandoned the dark ways of the sea god.

Last edited by Met-Hild; August 27, 2011 at 02:56pm.
Reason: splitting the post in two

Yes, I'll post them today in the fan art thread. There's a limit of 10 images per post, so I couldn't have portraits for all of them here without dropping some races, which I didn't think was worth it. I was considering (re)using the Ailur portrait for the Qadians, though (they're practically the same race).

Am I correcting thinking that these races were all created, if the Ancients were the only ones who naturally evolved?

It's more complicated than that, though many of the races don't have entirely naturalistic origins. For some races it's probably easiest to say, for the time being, that they are five-dimensionally displaced. I'm still not sure how (or if) I'll be able to explain it so that it makes sense, so I've been really avoiding the subject.

The next part should also include at least one race/species that is not Eternian in origin.

You could have just split you post into two parts? Regardless, I like the portraits, especially the Dai.

You know what we need on this board? A facepalm smilie. I can't believe I didn't think of that myself! I think I'll split part I in two right now, so that I can use the two missing faces here.

And now you must explain the 5 dimensional displacement!!!!

Calling it 5-dimensional would probably make a theoretical physicist's blood boil, but what I mean is this. There are three dimensions of space, and then there's time to make four. But one dimension of time only goes straight forward from minimal entropy to maximal entropy. The fifth dimension adds "sideways" time, every potential path that time could take from the point zero to the end of space and time. You could say it's a dimension of the multiverse. If you were to move someone in all of these five dimensions, they would become 5-dimensionally displaced.

Of course with the races on Metternia it's not THAT simple, and it doesn't explain the whys or even the hows, but at least the basic concept I meant should become clear.

Races, part II

Dai
An offshoot of the Ancient race, the Dai descended from prisoners and experiment victims that escaped from Hordak's Black Laboratory to the caverns of Subternia. They were either accidentally or on purpose left behind when the Ancients left Eternia. The Dai have largely avoided intermixing with other races since, though it is clear they have crossbred with humans, which has altered their facial features. Where the male Dai got their prominent fangs is not known.

Feran
The so-called beast men have always been known for their savagery and fearsome strength. These humanoid carnivores have resisted the temptations of a civilized life, being content to plunder what they need from other races. Having thrived in the Untamed Wilds after the fall of the Empire of Serpos, Ferans emerged in the Time of Strife. Lead by a gigantic shaman and demonomancer known simply as the Red Beast, they spread their reach all over the Perpetuan continent, until they were utterly crushed by the Foe-Men, survivors driven to the Vine Jungle where the remainders of the race live to this day.

Foemor
The fish-like Foemor have ruled the seas of Eternia for many millennia, building great empires beneath the waves and ruthlessly subjugating other aquatic beings like the Carcinians. Capable of surviving both out of water and the ocean depths, only their clumsiness on land has limited their desire to seize more living space. Legend has it that the first Foemor were drowning sailors that made a pact with Ebbomeleth, the Living God of the Seething Deep, and transformed to their current ichthyoid state. What is true for certain is that the cult of Ebbomeleth is alive and well among these people of the sea.

Great Felines
These big sapient cats have inhabited Eternia since the Primeterian age. Thought to have their origins in the Heavenly Tiger, Panthelestios, they were once nearly hunted to extinction by the Snake Men. They aided the Ancients to overthrow the Primeternian Snake Men empire, and were closely associated with the sorcerers of the Skull Tower. The Great Wars again took a great toll on their numbers, and today only a few pureblood Great Felines live in secluded parts of the Vine Jungle and the Evergreen Forest, rarely making contact with other races.

Manmot
Resembling man-shaped hairy elephants with curved tusks, the Manmot were among the largest races on Eternia. These hunter-gatherers were once a common sight in the freezing steppes of Frigia, but their numbers dwindled during the Second Great war and they disappeared altogether in the Time of Strife. Rumor has it that some tribes still survive in isolated valleys of the Ice Mountains.

Skleron
Originated from interbreeding between the Ancients and Reptons in the Primeternian age, these desert-dwelling beings greatly resemble the Caligar, though their scaly skin is purple or violet and they lack a tail. Sklerons have retained their tribal ways, rejecting civilization and high technology from the very birth of their race countless of millennia ago. Though often stereotyped as obtuse brutes, Sklerons are far more intelligent than they appear, merely unwilling to spend much time learning the languages or customs of other races.

Teratan
A hybrid race bred from Ancient and Ilkort stock by the warlock Hordak to work in his mills and foundries, the Teratans have a great tolerance for intense heat and an innate ability to infuse magical properties to crafted objects. Fierce in nature, they were also utilized in his armies. Easily recognizable by the sharp ceratinous horns growing on their head and face, the few survivors of the crushing of the Serpent Citadel hid in the Mystic Mountains, never again to emerge into the human-ruled world, excepting a few exiled criminals.

Ursar
Extinct since the Second Great war, the Ursar used to dwell in the great coniferous forests of what is now the desolate volcanic plain of Ignia. These fierce long-furred bipedal omnivores had much in common with the Ferans, though they were much more massive and less social by nature. Only one member of the race survives today, in the service of Hordak.